145 - 147 - Black Hog Down
by DianeLionheart
Summary: Robotnik kidnaps Hope Kintobor, leading Shadow (whom he's been acting as an unseen guardian angel to) to go after him to save her, only to find that Hope was bait for an elaborate trap orchestrated by Robotnik himself. Sonic and the Special Forces Team follow in order to save Hope and stop Shadow from committing murder.
1. 145 - Black Hog Down - Part 1

Written by KeiLionheart98

Based on an unused comic book storyline written by Karl Bollers for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog published by Archie Comics.

This re-write is intended for entertainment purposes and is also intended for those who feel the original story was lackluster and could have been better. No offence is intended for anyone who enjoyed the original story.

Note: This would be my first ever fan-fic that I have published, but my first, so please go easy on me.

Black Hog Down - Part 1

It's a quiet day in Knothole. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the citizens go about their daily business. That includes Hope Kintobor, who chooses to just kick back and relax by a tree with a book or two this fine afternoon. Not that the subject of matter is everyone's cup of tea, but young Hope is unaware that she's being watched from the shadows by a black hedgehog named Shadow.

Shadow is the Ultimate Lifeform, created by the great Gerald Robotnik 50 years ago. The moment he first saw Hope, he can't take his eyes off of her, Hope looks like Maria to him. He knew that Maria had died when his birthplace, the ARK got shut down, but he couldn't help but think that Maria is right there.

Suddenly, as Hope was just about to leave, she hears a noise and goes over to the field investigate. Meanwhile, Shadow hears bushes moving and sees a cloaked figure coming out of nowhere. It was Robotnik, lurking around the outer areas of Knothole. Shadow sees him and hides up the tree as it looks around the area. It was tall with a round, egg-shaped man in a cloak. Shadow is struck with a feeling of concern.

"Hmm? Isn't that… Robotnik?" Shadow asks himself, seeing the cloaked figure nearby. The man has his computer round his hand, looking around the area. The screen is green with a picture of Hope Kintobor on it.

"Hope Kintobor is approximately 10 – 15 yards away. Excellent!" The egg-shaped obese man said.

Shadow was shocked, after hearing what he has heard from the trees.

"He's after Hope?" He questions himself. "What does he want with her?"

But before Shadow could do anything, Hope enters the area where Shadow and Robotnik are, unaware of the danger that she is about to endure. He catches her going into the field where Robotnik is waiting.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Hope continues to walk through the field until…

"Hope, get outta there!" cried out Shadow. "Robotnik is after you!"

Hope hears the voice from above her, but before she could react after hearing a voice, Robotnik appears in front of the young overlander girl.

"Hello, my dear!" Robotnik greeted. "Did you miss me?"

"R-R-R-Ro…botnik!" Hope shuttered. She tries to run back to Knothole but Robotnik stops her in her tracks. Shadow jumps from the tree and confronts Robotnik.

"Hope, run!" he tells Hope. She nods and turns to run out of the way. He attacks Robotnik, but Robotnik had predicted Shadow's movements, and counters them with a blue energy field.

"Ha! Is that the best you can do?" taunts Robotnik. Shadow tries to hit Robotnik once more, this time, fueled fury, however, Robotnik blocks off Shadow's punch with his own hand. He grabs Shadow by the wrist and throwns him into the bushes, knocking him out.

Meanwhile, Hope is running and wandering in the field, trying to get away from Robotnik. However, she finds herself lost and unable to find Knothole. She slows down from running due to fatigue and stops to catch her breath. She breathed slowly, trying to regain her strength. But before it could all come back, four small lights surrounding Hope in a box flicker and walls slowly lifts up from the grass. The capsule walls come together, trapping Hope inside. Hope bangs on the walls, crying for help, but no body near could hear. Worse still, a tranquilizer gas comes out from the ceiling and fills the room with gas. Hope holds her nose, trying not to inhale it. However, she was already weakened from fleeing, losing her grip on the nose and falls to the ground.

After Hope was knocked out, the capsule unwinds itself, and behind the girl, a silhouette of Robotnik appears with a white, sinister grin.

Back at the fields, after a few seconds, Shadow gets back up, but Robotnik are already gone. He looks around, left and right.

"Hope? Hope!?" he calls out, but there was no one. He nearly falls due to a bad knee and clutches on to his left upper arm. He continues to the field, looking for Hope, until he sees Robotnik on his mobile and discovers Hope is inside. Shadow is horrified that Hope has been captured by Robotnik despite his attempts of saving her. He starts to go after them in-spite of his injured knee.

Young Miles Prower, a.k.a. Tails is heading for the Knothole Orphanage to meet with Hope. They were both reading the same book; "The Mysterious Pre-Mobian History". Tails arrives at the ronde au, but Hope is nowhere to be seen. Rosie is here, with the other orphans, however, so he flies up to her.

"Hey, Rosie." greeted Tails.

"Good morning, Miles." greeted Rosie.

"Has Hope came by?" asked Tails.

"Oh, no, Miles, I haven't seen her since breakfast." explained Rosie. "She said she'll be reading by the trees."

"Oh… ok. It's just that I'm supposed to meet up with her and talk about the book that was found in the old Mobotropolis library."

"I let you know if I see her." Rosie assures Tails as he leaves.

"Thanks Rosie. I'll see you later." Tails walks out of the orphanage and begins to look for his overlander friend.

"Hope?" Tails calls out, as he flies around Knothole. "Hope?" As his search begins to look grim, Tails finds a beaten Shadow coming out from the bushes. Shortly after arriving, Shadow collapses on his knees.

"Shadow!" He cried, seeing Shadow in a terrible state. The fox boy runs up to him, checking if he's alright. "What happened?!"

"Ho... Hope..." muttered Shadow, weakly.

"Huh?" Tails was muddled when Shadow muttered out Hope's name.

"He...took...Hope..." Shadow said.

"Who? Who took Hope?" He asks Shadow but he doesn't answer. "C'mon, lemme help you up!" Tails helps Shadow up and tries to take him to Freedom HQ.

"Ro... bot... nik...must...stop...him..." Shadow muttered.

"Hang on, I'm going to take you to Rotor right now!" assured Tails.

"He… must...pay..." Shadow muttered again.

"Huh?" Tails says as Shadow's begins to regain consciousness more and more, and his emotion is turning into anger. Tails is beginning to become concerned as he witnesses this.

"Ro… botnik… must pay… for taking Hope from me."

"Wha-" A shocked Tails says. Before Tails does anything, Shadow pushes Tails aside. "Shadow! You don't have to do this-!"

"You stay out of this! I will have my revenge!" Shadow teleports away.

Tails is in a state of shock. He's never seen Shadow like this before, and the last time he saw him, the world is under threat by the Xorda. Now, he's going after Robotnik with the possibility of committing murder.

"Oh man! I gonna warn the others!" Tails runs off to find the others and warn them about Shadow.

The young overlander girl wakes up inside a chamber. The room has a sci-fi atmosphere. There were keyboards, and computer screens, and wires connecting to the wall back wall. She looks around, still whizzing from the hit she endured from the Shadowbot. "W-where am I?" she asked so anxiously.

"You're in Megaopolis, my dear!" said a voice. Hope gasps from shock. Coming out from the shadows is none other than the egg-shaped man with the master plan, Dr. Robotnik. The girl backs away, cowering in fear, seeing her diabolical uncle. He laughs evily. "Ho ho ho ho ho!"

"R-R-R-Ro-botnik!" shuddered Hope, seeing Robotnik coming out.

"Please darling," says Robotnik. "call my uncle Ivo! We're family after all."

"N-No!" cried Hope. "You're not even my biological uncle! We're step-relatives, remember?"

"Now, now, sweetie! Just because we're not related though blood doesn't mean we're not family! Especially since you my last known family member, around."

"We are not a family! Not after what you did to my step-dad and grandma!"

"Let by-gones be by-gones, shall we? You can be my new toady. Since my last was a… disappointment. He wasn't what I'd hoped he be when we came face-to-face with those Xorda creatures, so I let him to rot."

"I'll never work for you, even if you're the last scientist on Mobius!"

"As I expect you to be stubborn. Fine! Be an ungrateful brat all you want; you are never leaving this place. Take her away!" A couple of Shadowbots arrive to take Hope and drag her to the prison cells, and Robotnik leaves the room and heads to another room.

Robotnik enters the main control room of his fortress and sits down by his chair near the monitors, when the AI A.D.A.M. detects the presence within the area.

"Father, an intruder has been detected outside the fortress." Said A.D.A.M.

"Show the surveillance!" ordered Robotnik, and A.D.A.M. switches to the surveillance and Robotnik finds Shadow breaking into the fortress. He's spun attacked through the metallic door, leaving dents. "Well, well… Didn't think that sneaky rodent had it in him, huh?!"

After entering the fortress, Shadow looks at the surveillance camera and runs over to it. "Come out, Robotnik, you coward!" Shadow says angrily to the surveillance camera

"Shall I call the Shadowbot-Squad and send them to eliminate Shadow?" asked A.D.A.M.

"No!" Robotnik tells his AI son. "Let him roam free. This will be far more entertaining."

Tails runs into Freedom HQ, "Sonic, there you are!" he says as he finds Sonic inside, sitting on the couch.

Sonic hears Tails coming in and gets up from the couch. "Tails!" Sonic exclaims as he sees him come in "Where've you been? I knocked on your door earlier and nobody answered!"

"I'm afraid I don't have good news, Sonic! I just found Shadow in the bushes. He said that Robotnik has kidnapped Hope, and now he's in pursuit of him!"

"What?!" says Sonic in shock.

"It gets worse. I saw the anger on Shadow's face. I think he's planning on doing something murderous if we don't stop him!"

"Hang on, lil bud, I'll call the rest of the gang, you go and tell Rotor and make reservations."

"You got it!"

Sonic and Tails run out of Freedom HQ and race to Rotor's Lab to tell Rotor and his partner Tommy about Shadow and his dangerous intentions.

Tails arrives at Rotor's Lab and knocks on the door. "Come in!" says the voice of Tommy from behind the door, and Tails opens the door of the lab, finding Rotor, sitting on his chair, and Tommy with paperwork in his hands.

"Hello, Miles!" greeted Tommy.

"Hey, Tommy!" greeted Tails, before turning to Rotor. "Rote! Got a minute?"

"Sure! What's the problem?" asks Rotor.

"I want to request that the KSFT go and follow Shadow.

"What?!" exclaimed Rotor with surprise. "How come?"

"I just saw Shadow a few minutes ago, he came by with bruises on his arms and legs. I tried to get him to you but he pushed me away, and he looked angry when he refused my help. He said that Robotnik has kidnapped Hope!"

Rotor is shocked, hearing Tails' explanation, as did Tommy, putting his hand on his mouth.

"The young overlander girl at the orphanage?" asked Tommy with concern.

"Yes! We need to go after him before he goes on a murderous rampage!"

"Tails, have you lost your mind?! Shadow is one of the most powerful Chaos beings we've ever seen. And like how you said that he'll refuse any of our help; If we get in his way, he will attack us! And his power is too much for us to withstand. Not to mention that Robotnik is dangerous than ever since the second war with him began. Don't you remember when we were in Megaopolis? He had his Shadowbots cornering us, we barely escaped!"

"We've faced him and his 'bots countless times before. What happened back then was nothing!"

"The Shadowbots were highly advanced then the SWATbots from before. They were smarter and stronger!"

"But we gotta do something! I thought we were the Freedom Fighters!"

"We are, Tails, but we were nearly killed that day, and we're not the ones who lead the charge. We're… the brains of the team. We're the ones who provide the logistical and tactical support to the first team. Sonic, Amy, Bunnie and Fiona are the ones that provide for the team with their combat skills. And then there's the princess, who's neither support nor combat. She's leadership without which none of us could function."

The emotion on Tails' face has turned to sadness and worry.

"But… Rotor…" he says.

"If anything had happened to any of us, not only would the team be lost, but all of Mobius could be doomed. It's not worth it."

"Please, Rotor. Think of what Robotnik could do to Hope."

The room was silent; Rotor sat on his chair as he thought what Tails has said. He was a Freedom Fighter, and the Freedom Fighters had never backed down from danger, even if it's Robotnik's robots. And while the Shadowbots were more powerful and dangerous than the SWATbots from the past, that didn't stop Sonic from rescuing his long-lost friend, Tommy, and now, he's living in Knothole, working alongside Rotor in his lab. Hope is also a resident of Knothole, ever since Robotnik had roboticized her family. Though she was discriminated by the rest of Knothole for being an Overlander since settling in, the Freedom Fighters still saw her as an ally and a person.

Tails did bring up a good point; with Hope in Robotnik's custody, he could do terrible things to her, he did after all destroy her family by roboticizing her father and grandmother. He probably wouldn't do the same to her since he lost that ability, but he would treat her like a punching bag like he did to Snively. He hadn't been seen since the Xorda attack the previous year.

After a nearly a minute, Rotor takes a deep breath and looks up to Tails' face.

"Alright." Said Rotor. "I'll see what I can do, for Hope."

Tails' emotion changes; his sadness and hopelessness turns into hope.

"You will?" Tails asks with a tearful smile.

"Yes." Rotor nods. "I'm calling the princess right now."

Tails is relieved, happy that Rotor is going to request a mission into Megaopolis to save Hope and stop Shadow before he goes on a violent rampage.

"Thanks, Rote." Tails says.

Meanwhile, Shadow arrives in-front of a metallic door. Shadow wrecks the door. However, the room was empty, nothing but blank screens and monitors. He enters the empty room. He steps in the center of the room and, just then…

WHAM!

A glass tube falls down on Shadow, trapping him. Shadows bangs his fists at the glass. He is now trapped. Above the door is a widescreen monitor. It switches on and Robotnik appears on the screen with an evil grin on his face.

"Greetings! It's been a long time, Shadow the Hedgehog! How are you enjoying your visit?"

"Robotnik!" screams Shadow. After seeing Robotnik coming out to reveal himself, Shadow's anger rises and viciously starts spin attacking the glass, desperately trying to break the glass tube. "You took Hope away from me! And then you put me in this glass prison! Let me out of here and bring her back! Now! Or else!"

"Or else what? You kill me?!" threatened Robotnik and lets out another evil laugh. "If you want her back so bad, see if you can try and can break down this glass! Good luck! It's made from diamond! It'll take hours to break it down! Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho hooo!"

The monitor goes off and the tube starts spaying gas. Shadow covers his mouth and nose, trying not to inhale the gas. But with the tight space of his glass tube prison, he is unable to hold his breath or grip and Shadow begins to feel woozy, he struggles to keep himself standing. Unable to withstand the gas anymore, Shadow collapse on the ground and blacks out…

Later on, Sonic, Tails, and the rest of the Knothole Special Forces Team are preparing for their mission; to go into Megaopolis to rescue Hope and stop Shadow from doing anything violent.

"Hey, guys! Are we ready to go?" Sonic says, arriving at the Freedom One.

"Just about, Sonic!" said Tails." The guys are finishing loading the remaining equipment!"

Upon arriving, he notices that his ex-girlfriend Sally is by the air craft. Sonic was put in an awkward disposition. He takes a deep breath, and walks up to say hi, acting like nothing is wrong.

"Sally! What a nice surprise-" greeted Sonic.

"I came to wish you well!" explained Sally.

"Don't worry! We'll be fine!" Sonic insures Sally.

"You'd say that no matter what!" she says with a somber look on her face.

Seeing the look on her face, knowing that he's going on a mission that could go bad for him, Sonic tries to make the conversation, with a friendly smile. "You know, if you wanna tag along-"

"I can't!" says Sally, not-so-harshly, but is concerned. "I have my royal duties! You and the others just go find Hope and bring her back safely!"

"Sonic! It's time to go!" called Tails.

"I'll be my usual cautious self!" Sonic says as he heads for the Freedom One with a friendly wave and his usual happy-go-lucky look.

"Oh, sure! Good luck! All of you!" The Acorn Princess tells her team. She watches as her blue hero enters the Air Craft before the air craft door closes behind him. Tails sits down at the pilot's chair and starts up the engines, preparing for take-off. The craft sets off, and flies away. "_Sonic..._"

While on the craft, heading for New Megaopolis, Sonic was leading back on his seat. He was looking a bit down, after seeing his old friend since the break-up. Tails notices Sonic's down demeaner. "Anything wrong, Sonic?" asks Tails.

"Nah!" Just thinking…" He tells Tails, and as he lays back on his chair, relaxing as the Freedom One heads for a new destination, he begins to think about Sally. "_Sal, what has become of you during that my year in space…?_"

Hope was inside the prison cells, all alone, cold and scared. She curls up, holding on to herself, praying for someone to come and rescue her. A single tear falls from her eye, muttering "Help… me…"


	2. 146 - Back Hog Down - Part 2

Written by KeiLionheart98

Based on an unused comic book storyline written by Karl Bollers for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog published by Archie Comics.

This re-write is intended for entertainment purposes and is also intended for those who feel the original story was lackluster and could have been better. No offence is intended for anyone who enjoyed the original story.

Black Hog Down - Part 2

New Megaopolis, the capital of Robotnik's empire. The streets are barely empty, many Shadowbots are patrolling the city. Their eyes are glowing bright red. The craft (in stealth mode) arrives as it flies over the city and lands near the city junkyard undetected. The Knothole Special Forces Team exit the craft.

"Well, here we are again, New Megaopolis." Sonic says as he steps out of the craft. "Just looking at it brings back bad memories of when Robuttnik had control over Robotropolis."

Tails then takes out a GP and presses a button that shows a holographic projection of a city's map. "Okay team, this is the map of New Megaopolis." He tells the rest of the team. "Nicole was able to downloaded it to this GP the last time we were here rescuing Tommy. And here is the complete inside structure of Robotnik's Fortress. Rotor mentioned that Robotnik's Fortress has many computer rooms and at least one is the surveillance room. If we can find that room, we'll be sure to find the location to where Robotnik is keeping Hope and find Shadow."

The team arrives at the fortress, discovering that the front metal door has a large, round dent, allowing the team to enter the fortress. They were almost detected by the surveillance camera which is at the entrance, but they managed to avoid detection by running to the wall under where the surveillance is. Tails sees a door from the other wall and he leads the team to the doorway before the surveillance could turn the other way. By the time the team had reached the door to the next room, they've successfully got out of the surveillance's view before it could even catch them. They enter the next room with three-way hallways, the team stands in the middle.

"Alright, gang," says Sonic. "So, here's what gonna happen; I'm going on ahead solo and hunt down Shadow! Fiona and Amy are one team and will look for the Detention Center where Hope is being held!"

"Got it!" said Fiona with a thumbs up.

"You can count on me, Sonic!" Amy said with a smile and a salute.

"And Tails, you and Bunnie are team two. Your job is to look for a computer room to find any surveillance and call me back with the Comm-Link if you find anything."

"Okay Sonic!" Tails nods. "But Sonic," the fox follows up just as Sonic is about to leave. "Shadow has Chaos Power and is stronger than all of us combined. Are you sure you can handle him?"

"It's okay, lil' buddy. I survived a lotta tough situations before, this one's no different. See ya!"

With that Sonic runs through the middle hallways and begins his search for Shadow, while the rest of the team will go their own ways to look for Hope; Tails and Bunnie head left for the computer room, and Amy and Fiona go right the look for the Detention Cells and find their overlander friend and bring her back safely.

Shadow wakes up in an in-close room. He looks around through nearly-closed eyes, his vision was blurry for a moment. He's still inside a glass tube, almost looking like the old roboticizer.

"Good morning, Shadow. Do you have a lovely stay in my exquisite suite?"

"Lovely? SUITE?! You gassed me and left me inside this wretched glass prison!"

"You're welcome." Robotnik says, sarcastically. "Honestly, some people are so impolite!"

"Let me out of here, right now!" Shadow yells as he bangs on the glass.

"Ho ho ho! You can go whenever you desire! I've already got what I wanted from you."

"What?!" exclaimed Shadow. "What is it that you want from me?"

"Ho ho ho ho ho! I can't tell you that. It would spoil the surprise."

Robotnik leaves the dark, laughing manically, leaving the black and red hedgehog inside the glass prison. Shadow has finally at his breaking point, he has been tricked by Robotnik into coming here after he kidnapped the young that reminded him of Maria.

"Robotnik! He was only using Hope to trap me! I'm going to make him pay, for taking Hope away from me and trapping me inside a closed room! I will destroy Robotnik and anyone who gets in my way!" Shadow himself has finally had it, he is not able to let anything or anyone hold him down. The glass capsule that is holding Shadow finally breaks, shattered glass falls like rain. He steps out of his capsule prison with no patience left. There was pure anger in his eyes, hatred on his face. He is ready to destroy anyone who gets in his way.

Sonic is walking through the hallways of the fortress. The whole place was so huge that he could get himself lost in these halls. He looked left and right for Shadow. Speaking of whom, he too is walking along the hallways meanwhile, searching for Robotnik. Sonic finally finds Shadow.

"Shadow!" He yells out, but as Sonic was about to help Shadow, the black and red hedgehog punches his blue rival, pushing him to the floor.

"What are you doing here, Faker?!" Shadows askes with a furious tone.

"I came to talk some sense into you." Sonic says while getting up on his knee, holding his jaw. "Tails explained everything. We can still save Hope; you just need to calm down."

"Calm down? I am not accountable to you!"

Shadow jumps and is about to punch him again, but Sonic and moves out of the way. He then kicks Shadow in the gut. Shadow quickly recovers and teleports away just as when Sonic was about to pull off the second move. Shadow appears from behind Sonic and kicks Sonic in the back of the head, which sends the blue blur to the wall. As the vengeful hedgehog runs after Sonic, he reacts quickly and jumps off the wall, landing in a corner, and Spin Attacks Shadow in the head. Shadow recovers from Sonic's attack quickly and teleports. Sonic looks both sides, bracing himself for what Shadow has next. After 8 seconds, Shadow grabs Sonic from behind and throws him down from the balcony, landing in the lower floor.

In another part of the fortress nor far from where Sonic is, Amy and Fiona hear a thud, and they rush over to find the source of the noise. While Sonic is laying on the floor, brushed and trying desperately to get up. In one of Sonic's attempts to get up, Shadow steps on Sonic's back, forcing Sonic back to the ground.

"How pathetic! You were the same hedgehog that gave his life to save Mobius one year ago, but you couldn't win in a fight against the Ultimate Lifeform!" Shadow hears footsteps from behind and sees the shadows of Amy and Fiona coming from the corner. "I don't have time for games! Farewell!" Shadow lets go of Sonic and quickly takes off. At that moment, Amy and Fiona arrive, they find Sonic injured from his fight against Shadow. The girls were in complete shock.

"Sonic!" Amy and Fiona say in shock of seeing a hurt Sonic, laying on the ground. "Oh, man! He looks pretty bad!" says Fiona. After arriving by Sonic's side, Amy prepares to help Sonic up as Fiona takes out her backpack and pulls out her comm-link.

Tails and Bunnie are in another of the fortress looking for the control room when the comm-link begins ringing from the pocket of Bunnie's jacket. Bunnie pulls the comm-link out of her pocket and answers, pressing the "talk" button and brings the comm-link to her left ear. "Talk to me, Sugah!"

"Bunnie!" Fiona says through the comm-link. "This is Fiona! Sonic's been injured. I need the med-kit. Stat!"

"Copy that! I'll retrieve it from Freedom One and be back in a flash!" replies Bunnie. Having received the message, Bunnie puts the comm-link back in her pocket, turns to the other direction and jets off back to the air craft to get the medical kit.

"Bunnie! Wait!" yelled Tails at Bunnie.

"Don't cha worry, Sugah-Tails. You go on ahead!" she tells Tails as she jets off.

"But I'm gonna need the Comm-link!" Tails tries to Bunnie, but she's already gone, heading to Sonic and aid him for his injuries.

Meanwhile, Amy tends to Sonic, helping him sit up against a wall. "Easy, Sonic! Just relax!" Amy says as she helps Sonic to sit up.

"I'm okay, Ames!" Sonic says. "Just… exhausted!"

"You look more banged-up than exhausted!" Fiona pointed out.

"Tell us what happened." Said Amy.

"You want the full-story or the abridged version?" Sonic asks.

"Full-story!" The girls reply.

"Ran into Shadow." Sonic told the girls. "I tried to talk some sense into him but he refused to co-operate. So, we duked it out for who knows how long! Bottom line… that faker can throw a punch!"

"Shadow may look like a hedgehog, but I'm not sure that he's in some way related to you. I don't think he's mobian like us." Commented Fiona. Just then, Bunnie arrives, flying with her jet-feet with the med-kit in her arms.

"Bunnie!" said everyone.

"OK, settle down, Sugahog, Ah'm a here, now." Bunnie settles her jet feet down and proceeds to tend Sonic's injuries. She bends on her knees and starts aiding Sonic's injuries. She takes a roll of band aid and wraps it around Sonic's injured elbow.

After walking through the hallways of Robotnik's fortress alone, trying to avoid getting caught by the surveillance orbs and the Shadowbot Guards, Tails finds a dark room. He steps in to take examine the room more closely.

"Hello? Anybody home? No?" he says as he enters the room. He flicks the light-switch by the door and the lights go on. It reveals to be the control room, where it has a surveillance system, the exact room that Tails and Bunnie were tasked to look for. He finds the main computer in the room. It has many monitors, showing every part of New Megaopolis and even within the fortress. Tails was ecstatic to find the room to find his friends. The young fox cub looks over to the row on the right and sees a young blonde overlander girl inside of a cell, somewhere in the darkest corners of the city. Tails was surprised when he discovered the location of the friend, he requested to the Knothole Special Forces Team to rescue. "Hope! I found her. Now if only I can contact the others and tell her where she is."

Just then, he notices something else on the other monitors. He sees a shadowy figure of a hedgehog. "Huh? What's this?" The figure of the shadow steps out, revealing to be Shadow, and he's heading to the control room where Robotnik is. Seeing a blood-hungry Shadow in the monitors, Tails becomes shocked. "Shadow! I gotta warn the others, but I don't know how to communicate with them." He spots a microphone by the computer and a pile of broken wires. This gave Tails an idea, and so using his tinkering skills, he carefully re-worked the wires to fix and connect the microphone to the computer so that he can be able to contact the rest of the group.

Back in the hallways, Sonic is seen with a band aid cloth around his elbow, being carried by Bunnie and Fiona. Suddenly, a voice comes out from the comm-link. "Hello? Sonic? Can anyone here me?"

Sonic hears the voice from the comm-link and reacts. "Huh? Tails? Am I going nuts, or am I hearing you voice?" He asks.

"Thank goodness." Said Tails through the comm-link. "Listen, I've found Shadow, he's heading for Robotnik's control room."

"How do you know?" Sonic asked again.

"I'm in the control room," replied Tails through Sonic's comm-link. "and I've found Hope! She's being held in Detention Cell 7-G."

"Excellent! Thanks, buddy! Team-?"

"We heard ya loud and clear, Sugah-Hog!" said Bunnie.

"Great! I'm going after Shadow."

"Sonic, don't be rash!" said Fiona.

"Yeah! You already busted yur elbow." Bunnie points out. "You wanna bust yur'self-up more by fightin'-"

"Relax, Buns. I can stop Shadow. While you girls head to the Detention Cell and bust Hope outta there! Later!" After insuring the girls about his well-being, the blue hedgehog takes off at sonic speed. As he runs through the halls, he takes out his comm-link to speak to Tails. "Tails, give the directions to Shadow's whereabouts!"

"Okay, Sonic! Here's where Shadow's heading!"

While Sonic is running in the halls being assisted by his friend via communicator, Shadow is walking down the corridor to the main computer room, where Robotnik should be operating. He has broken down every door in the corridor to find the room, but to no avail.

"Robotnik! I know you're here! Show yourself, now!" he shouts.

He finds the last door at the end of the corridor and with a deep breath, breaks down the door. He finds a dark room, with oddly, no surveillance cameras. He looks around the room to find Robotnik, he can hear working machines, lights are flickering a little, and wires with sounds of a little voltage.

"Robotnik!" he shouted again. As his patience grows weary, something unexpected happens.

"Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!" laughed a voice through the speakers, surprising Shadow. "You still here, Shadow? I'm guessing that you're taking a liking to my place. If you have any problems, I do apologize, but-"

"Doctor! You kidnapped Hope and brought her to this place! Give her back, now!"

"Ohh! Is that it?" Robotnik says amusingly. "Well I'm afraid that won't be possible. You see, Hope is my niece from by brother's marriage to Ms. Hopkins so I should be allowed to complete custody to her, and now, she's staying with here! So, giving her to you is not a choice."

"I will show no mercy, Robotnik! Give her back!"

Just then, Sonic arrives at the in time and finds Shadow.

"Shadow! You don't have to do this!" Sonic tells Shadow as he walks towards him. Unfortunately, seeing Sonic in his presence again, Shadow is not pleased.

"**You** again!" Shadows exclaims, and attacks Sonic again. He misses when Sonic moves away in time due to his speed. Sonic curls and spin dashes, slamming Shadow to a wall. After a moment, Shadow gets back up on his feet while recovering from the blow. "I already told you! I don't need you or your weak friends for any help, now back off!"

Shadow spins dashes Sonic to a corner and Sonic retaliates with his own spin attack. However, Shadow dodges by jumping and karate chops Sonic on the head. Sonic lands on the floor, face down, and is about to be hit from the back of the head again, but luckily, Sonic quickly sees Shadow's next attack and rolls to his left, avoiding the hit and causing Shadow's fist to smash into the ground.

Sonic gets back up on his feet. "Shadow, stop! We can save Hope together!" he says.

Shadow still doesn't listen and continues to fight Sonic. He tries to attack Sonic again with another spin attack, but Sonic swiftly moves to the right, and begins to fight back. The two hedgehogs have an all-out brawl, unaware of the surveillance camera up from above them.

Meanwhile inside Robotnik's main computer room, the surveillance shows the footage of Shadow fighting with Sonic, as well the KSFT inside the fortress. Seeing his arch-enemy with his grandfather's creation inside the base, as well as the actions of the KSFT made Robotnik's blood boil in fury. He's not going to let his greatest enemy get in the way of his plans for Shadow.

"Not those irritating rodents! Always interfering with my plans."

"Do you wish for me to summon the Shadowbots to deal with the intruders!" asked A.D.A.M.

"Yes!" exclaimed Robotnik "Do as you must, my son! Hurry up and take Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as those Freedom Fighters out. I don't care if you kill them all!"

Meanwhile, Tails notices some doors opening, with Shadowbots coming out. He's shocked seeing this, believing that Robotnik knows that the KSFT are inside the fortress. Tails grabs the mike and tries to contact Sonic.

"Sonic, can you hear me?!" he says to the mike. "There are more Shadowbots coming into the fortress. I think-" Suddenly, all of the surveillance screens begin to go static. Tails has lost the connection to Sonic. He tries desperately to restart the program and get Sonic but it's no good. "Sonic? Sonic!"

While Sonic and Shadow are still duking it out, the alarms then sound the fortress. Sonic is in complete shock as they hear the sound of the loud alarm. He has been stricken with a strong feeling that it is not good. As Shadow lets Sonic go, Sonic tries to reach him.

"Shadow!" Sonic calls out to Shadow, but again, Shadow has no interest in going with Sonic.

"Stay out of my way, I warn you!" Shadow says and he teleports away.

"Shadow, wait!" says Sonic, but Shadow is already gone. Sonic is now alone with the room and the alarm; the lights lightning the room in red. Sonic's expression to the current situation has become worrisome, he thinks that Robotnik has figured out that the KSFT has broken into the fortress and now, he and the rest of the team are in grave danger as soon, the Shadowbots will come to annihilate the heroes…


	3. 147 - Black Hog Down - Part 3

Written by KeiLionheart98

Based on an unused comic book storyline written by Karl Bollers for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog published by Archie Comics.

This re-write is intended for entertainment purposes and is also intended for those who feel the original story was lackluster and could have been better. No offence is intended for anyone who enjoyed the original story.

Black Hog Down - Part 3

The other members of the Knothole Special Forces Team, Bunnie Rabbot, Amy Rose, and Fiona Fox were in another part of Robotnik's Fortress when the alarms were set off. The lights filled the room in red. The girls were shocked, surprised, and scared, worried that they have been discovered.

"The alarms!" exclaimed Fiona.

"Have we been discovered?!" asked a shocked Amy.

Bunnie reaches for her jacket pocket and takes out her comm-link.

"Tails, sugarcube? Can ya see what's goin' on?" she asks, but there is no answer. "Tails ain't answerin'!"

Bunnie hears the Shadowbots marching to their location. They're not here yet but it won't be too long until they arrive. As they draw closer, the footsteps grow louder and louder.

"Girls, we can't stay here, we've gotta get outta here before Robotnik's shadowbots found out where we are!"

"But the Detention Cells are just this way!" says Amy. "We can't give up now! We've gotta save Hope!"

"Amy! Shadowbots are on their way! If they catch us-"

"But we can't let Sonic down! He's counting on us on rescuing Hope!"

Bunnie sees the silhouettes of the Shadowbots as they approach them. Standing where she is, she turns her head to the girls. "You two go on ahead!" Bunnie tells Amy and Fiona. "Ah'll take care of the ol' Shadowbots!"

"Thank you, Bunnie!" Amy says and she and Fiona head off, where Bunnie stayed behind to fight off against the Shadowbot horde while Amy and Fiona run for the Detention cells and rescue Hope.

The Shadowbots arrive on time to capture the Special Team Force, only finding Bunnie in the area as Amy and Fiona have already left. Nevertheless, the Shadowbots prepare themselves to restrain and capture Bunnie.

"Freeze, intruder!" shouted the Shadowbot as the troops surround Bunnie. "You are under arrest! Surrender now!"

Bunnie then gives a smirk. "Ah'd rather prepare mahself for the fight!" she said, and as she's being picked up by her organic arm by the Shadowbot behind her, she breaks free using her arm cannon to blast the Shadowbot off her. She jumps off the Shadwobot that had previously held her and landed on another Shadowbot in front of her. Another Shadowbot sneaks up behind her and tries to grab her, but thanks to her ears, she was able to detect one of the Shadowbots that are behind and punches it on the chest with her robotic arm. The punched Shadowbot is pushed away and lands onto the other Shadowbots behind it.

Bunnie jumps off the Shadowbot she landed on and braces herself to rest of the Shadowbot horde. However, despite her best efforts to fend of the army for her friends and her amazing robotic skills, there are too many Shadowbots for half-robotic rabbit to handle. More Shadowbots corner her as she tries to give it her all.

While Sonic is still in the dark, empty room with a serious look on his face with the alarms still going on.

"This is so no not good!" Sonic thinks to himself. "Tails isn't responding! The alarms are off! Shadowbots are all over the place! And I have no clue where Shadow's gone next!"

Just as things are seemingly getting worse, Sonic finds himself in front of a horde of Shadowbot. "Freeze! You are now a prisoner of-"

Sonic spin attacks in the Shadowbot's head, smashing it. He lands behind the headless robot as it falls to the ground like a tree that's just been chopped down.

"Sorry, buddy! But I'm in a bit of a rush here!" he tells the Shadowbots as runs out of the dark room. Sonic is now running though the fortress, fending off the Shadowbots, trying desperately to find out where his arch-rival Shadow the Hedgehog is.

While in the Detention Cell 7-G, Hope notices the ceiling crumbling and hears the sound of the alarm a little. Just as hope is all list the young overlander girl, Bunnie, Amy, and Fiona arrive. The moment she sees the three freedom fighter girls arrive at the detention cells, Hope's despair turns to hope; her prayers are finally answered, with a happy-cry smile on her face. She rushes to the bars of her cell to see her rescuers.

"Hope!" called Amy.

"Amy!" called Hope. "I-I'm so scared... I was afraid that someone wouldn't come..."

"We're here now, sweetheart." Fiona tells Hope. "Your safe with us now. Sonic and Tails are here too!"

"And Bunnie is holding off the Shadowbots behind us!" Amy tells her.

"Please... get me outta here!"

"Intruders, found in Detention Cell 7-G."

"No! We've been detected!"

"Hang in there. We're getting you outta there now." Amy summons her Piko Piko Hammer and prepares to smash down the cells and break Hope out. "Stand back, Hope!"

Tails, now with no possible way of communicating with the others is in complete disarray. In a state of panic and worry, he flies out of the computer room to search for the others and hoped that they haven't been caught and captured by the Shadowbots. He turns to the right from the room and speeds through the hallways, franticly searching for anyone of the team. He ends up running into a small horde of oncoming Shadowbots. He froze in fear for a moment before turning left to get away as the Shadowbots begin to chase after the young fox.

He kept flying, fleeing from oncoming Shadowbots that are covering every corner of the floor, until he finds Bunnie, all beaten up and being chased by the Shadowbots. Tails flies over to Bunnie to see if she's alright.

"Bunnie!" cried Tails. "You okay?!"

"Sugah-Tails…!" replied Bunnie while getting back up with her robotic arm holding her organic arm. "Yeah, could 'a been worse, Ah could 'a-"

"Freeze, intruders!" shouted the Shadowbots as they arrive on the scene to capture the Special Forces Team. "You are now prisoners of Robotnik! Surrender now!"

Bunnie and Tails are horrified by the appearance of the Shadowbot, having caught up to them. But they were the Freedom Fighters, the protectors and heroes of Mobius. Even with Bunnie's injuries, there are going to fight back. Just when they are about to however, like the Freedom Fighters they were, the walls on their right unexpectedly crumble before them.

The dust from the crumbled wall clears, and a giant mecha appears before Bunnie and Tails. It is fifteen-feel-tall, and it bears somewhat the appearance of a penguin; with an ultra-violet body with a golden beak and clawed feet, silver linings and detailing. It contained what appears to be cannons under its flippers.

"W…What the da'…" Bunnie reacted.

"W-Who is this?!" An astonished Tails asks.

"Ah dunno, and what's it doin' in a place like this?"

"Unauthorized obstacle within the perimeter. Warning! Unauthorized-"

Responding to nothing, the mecha takes out its underwing lasers, and with no mercy, demolishes Bunnie's pursuers with powerful flashing bullets, surprising her and Tails immensely. He stepped back and hid behind a corner. It obliterated every last Shadowbot like it was nothing. One by one, every Shadowbot goes down like a stack of dominos.

"Warning! Unauthorized obstacle annihilating Shadowbot units. Request for backup at Sector-"

The Shadowbots surround the mecha as an attempt to restrain it. However, the robot breaks out it's flipper blades and slices them all in half vertically, leaving the upper parts of their body on the floor. Meanwhile, Tails gets Bunnie's attention by tapping her shoulder.

"Bunnie," Tails whispers. "We can't stay here, it's best to let it be, and meet up with the others!"

"Got it, Sugar-cube!" Bunnie whispers back.

"Let's go!"

With their plan to find the others and escape the fortress, Bunnie and Tails leave the scene to find the rest of the team, leaving the mecha behind to deal with the Shadowbots that were pursing the Special Forces Team.

Shadow appears in another part of the fortress, the basement. However, Robotnik is still nowhere to be seen.

"_Robotnik. He won't give back Hope._" He thinks to himself. "_He thinks that Hope is his property! Once I find this traitorous monster I, will-_"

Before could do anything, Sonic arrives at the basement, where, with sheer-luck he is founded by Shadow. Unfortunately, Shadow is enraged as he is being tricked by Robotnik over and over again, and seeing his blue rival just made it worse.

The moment he sees Sonic, the black hedgehog grabs the blue blur from behind and starts choking him. As Shadow has his hands grasped around Sonic's neck, Sonic kicks Shadow in the face, freeing himself from Shadow.

"Shadow, stop!" Sonic says as he gets up while holding his throat, while Shadow gets back up on his feet while recovering from the blow. "I just wanna help! The others from the Knothole Special Forces Team are here too! So-!"

But then Shadow spin attacks Sonic, then comes in for a punch, but Sonic get up to avoid the punch by jumping over him. He aims down, and rapidly spin attacks Shadow. Sonic then throws a punch at Shadow, sending him to the ground. Shadow gets up and retaliates. Shadow grabs Sonic's leg and swings it into rubble. Sonic rams into Shadow for a head butt which Shadow narrowly avoids. Shadow throws a Chaos Spear at Sonic.

Sonic spin dashes Shadow and the attack causes the hedgehogs to go flying. They crash through the ceiling and Sonic land on the ground below. Shadow hovers down to where Sonic has landed. Shadow attacks once again and throws a Chaos Spear, and Sonic avoids the hit by curling into a ball. Sonic sneaks up from behind and spin attacks Shadow.

"Last chance, fake hedgehog!" Shadow viciously snarls. "Give it up… or be destroyed!"

Sonic begins by homing attack on Shadow and starts circling him as well. "No way, Shadow!" he says.

Shadow throws more Chaos Spears, and Sonic avoids each hit. Sonic punches Shadow in the face, throwing him to the wall, then runs towards Sonic. Shadow was looking very serious as its eyes are glowing with murderous bloodlust.

The two hedgehogs begin colliding attacks, from Shadow's Chaos Spears to Sonic's Wind Attack. Shadow smacks Sonic to the floor, and proceeds to shoot Sonic with another Chaos Spear, but Sonic narrowly dodges the shots and kicks Shadow in the chin and falls to the ground. An enraged Shadow gets back up and throws himself to Sonic, pinning the blue hedgehog against a wall. Still refusing to be beaten down, Sonic prepares for a retaliation, and attacks again with a Spin Dash.

Meanwhile, Tails and Bunnie are flying through the hallways, trying to get away from the pursuing Shadowbots.

"Amy, Fiona!" Tails sees the girls and is ecstatic to see that Hope is freed and with them. "Hope!" cried Tails.

"Tails!" cried Hope.

The young overlander runs to the young yellow fox with relieved smiles.

"You okay?" asked Tails.

"I am now that you're here, just a little shaken, that's all." Hope replied as gives a friendly hug to Tails.

"Where's Sonic?" asked Amy.

"I don't know." Replied Tails. "I got cut off from Sonic when the alarms go off…"

Sonic and Shadow crash through the walls. The whole team, plus Hope, are shocked, seeing Sonic fighting Shadow with his injuries.

"SONIC!" the rest of the team exclaimed.

Hope notices that Shadow, the black hedgehog that she had met previously, is fighting with the blue hedgehog who saved her from Robotnik.

"It's that black hedgehog again…" she says to herself. "but… why is he fighting Sonic?"

"Let's go after them!" suggested Tails, and the whole team follow suit for their friend.

The Special Forces Team, plus Hope head for the torn wall in order to catch up to the brawling hedgehogs, hoping they can stop the fight before Shadow brutally kills Sonic. The two hedgehogs land inside a giant engine room, the room almost looks like a robot factory. Sonic gets up on his feet, but he can't see Shadow. Then Shadow surprises Sonic by appearing in-front of him and attacks with blow to the head, reappears from behind and kicks him in the back, and then the gut. Sonic collapses to the ground, allowing Shadow to grab Sonic and pin him down so that he couldn't escape. Shadow then proceeds to repeatedly punch Sonic viciously. After a few punches it causes Sonic's nose to bleed.

The rest of the KSFT all arrive just in time to witness the brutal brawl between the two hedgehogs. Just as when Shadow is about to blow another punch, Sonic grabs Shadow's fist and swings Shadow, sending him flying. But was able to gain back his balance by flying with his hover shoes and hovers back down the floor. Sonic tries to get back up to attack Shadow again but falls to one of knee due to his injuries his sustained from his brutal fight with Shadow. Before Sonic could even get the chance to perform another Spin Attack, Shadow retaliates one more time and punches Sonic real hard in the gut, as if he was being stabbed. Sonic falls to the ground with a sharp pain in his stomach. He could barely move after that, and his eyes slowly close.

Everyone was horrified, seeing what Shadow has just done. Tails and Amy quickly go over their injured hero while Bunnie and Fiona stood where they stand and Hope shoot violently with fear in her eyes. The two younger members of the KSFT reach Sonic and kneel down to see if Sonic is still alive.

"Sonic?" cried Tails.

"Sonic!" cried Amy.

Sonic slowly but vaguely opens his eyes, noticing two of his friends are here. "… A…Amy… Tails."

"We're here now." Says Amy as she tends to her fallen hero.

Shadows walks from the bruised and brutally injured Sonic the Hedgehog, seeing the young overlander girl out of her prison cell and in safe hands. Not knowing that she saw what he did to Sonic, he begins to smile and walks to her. "Hope," he said with a relieved smile. "I'm so glad that you're safe. I wouldn't allow Robotnik to harm you or take you away from me ever again."

The girl, with fear in her eyes, slaps Shadow's hand away from her. Now having seeing him for the monster that he's become. "N-no! "She screams. "G-get away from me! You… You monster! You're just as horrifying as Robotnik! Sonic was only trying to protect me and you beat him like a dog! Go away… GO AWAY!"

From that moment, there was silence. After hearing Hope's outburst to Shadow, nobody has said a single word. Everyone was standing where they were. Shadow has become distraught. The girl who reminds him of Maria and the one he'd promised he'll always protect has seen him for the monster that he has become. He feels empty, there's a void in his heart that cannot be filled again. The only person that had ever made him whole since his beloved Maria… was Hope, and now, Hope is afraid of him, sees him as a monster, scarier and crueler than Robotnik, he's no longer the Guardian Angel to young, sweet Hope as his anger and rage permantly damaged his image in-front of her… forever.

Suddenly, a handful of Shadowbots enter the room, finding the heroes and breaking the silence. "Intruders, found in Engine Room 03!"

"Uh oh! We better get outta here, quick!" says Tails, and he and Amy then proceed to help Sonic up.

"Sonic! Can you still stand?" asked Tails, while his carrying Sonic by Sonic's left side.

"… Y…Yeah…" says Sonic, very weakly.

Tails and Amy wrapped Sonic arms around them and pick up the injured Sonic, and they begin to make their escape as the Shadowbots enter the Engine Room to arrest the Special Forces Team. There were hundreds, thousands of troops coming in. Everyone, including Tails, who's holding Sonic to get to safety after he's taken grueling hits from Shadow.

"This is really bad! Sonic's been beaten up, badly, and Bunnie strained her robotic arm breaking down the cell door. We have no chance against this many Shadowbots!"

Just when all hope seems lost for the Special Forces Team, the wall collapses, and the penguin robot steps in. The mecha then takes out its energized flipper blades and charges into the Shadowbots, annihilating a hand full of them.

"Unauthorized obstacle within the perimeter!"

"It again!" cried Bunnie.

"Wha… What is that thing?!" asked Amy.

Suddenly, the ceiling starts to crumble as the mecha abolishes the entire facility as it fights the Shadowbots.

"Let's just get outta here!" Tails cried to the rest of the team. "Hurry, before the whole place collapse!"

With the new set plan, the Special Forces Team head for the torn wall that the mecha-penguin left when it came in. Everyone gets out of the fortress one by one; first Fiona with Hope, then Tails and Amy holding an injured Sonic. Before exiting with the others, Bunnie turns her head to the mecha with a smile.

"Oh, and… thank you, whoever you are!" she says, and she exits the fortress, leaving it behind. However, the mecha didn't seem to notice Bunnie's gesture as it was too busy fending off the Shadowbots as the Special Forces Team escapes.

The mecha-penguin sees that Shadow is still standing in his distraught state, even though Hope is no longer in his sight and the Shadowbots are attacking as the Special Forces Team escape. Shadow realizes that the mecha has entered the fortress. Saying nother, Shadow fights against the Shadowbots with the robot as the Special Forces Team enter Freedom One and take off. After the last of the horde has been destroyed and the Freedom One has jetted off safely, the penguin robot grabs Shadow and they run out of the fortress.

While in the control room, Robotnik has examined the entire brawl, that includes the sudden appearance of the fifteen-foot penguin robot that took down most of the Shadowbots. Robotnik was shocked all the way watching the surveillance.

"Who is this giant heap of junk that's crashed into my fortress?" asked Robotnik.

"Unrecognized, father." Acknowledged A.D.A.M. "Whoever this is, it has destroyed over 900 of our Shadowbot units!"

Robotnik sits back at his chair and thinks for a moment while fiddling with his index finders.

"Why do I have the feeling that this wouldn't be the last time I'll ever seen him?" Robotnik asks himself.

The Special Forces Team are all aboard Freedom-One. The plane is on auto-pilot as everyone is in at the deck getting aided due to their injuries they sustained during their mission.

"This is Tails, reporting. Mission was a success, Princess Sally. Hope has been rescued and everyone made it out, safe and sound."

"That's good to hear." Says Sally through the phone. "Was anybody hurt during the mission?"

"Yeah. I'm afraid two of our fighters got hurt while saving Hope, but we're taking care of the wounds now."

"Oh? Well, at least let them be checked over by Dr. Quack once you've landed. Looking forward to seeing you."

"See you later, your highness." Tails hangs up the communicator then sets the craft to Auto-Pilot. He enters the cargo, where Sonic is sitting on a chair with bandages around his arms, legs, torso, and head on a bed. "S-Sonic… are you alright?" Tails asks, concerned about Sonic's well-being.

"Yeah… I'm alright, buddy." Sonic replied, with a. "It's just been a really rough day."

"Sally's so gonna kill you if she sees you like this."

"It's not just that, lil' bro." Sonic then looks at Hope, crying and being consoled by Bunnie. "I just hope that… well, we all put this awful nightmare behind us… and… that Shadow gets some serious help."

Meanwhile, Shadow and the penguin-robot are outside the fortress and hiding under the city.

"Shadow. Interesting name." commented the robot. "You must be the one that everyone refers to as the "Ultimate Lifeform." When I first saw you back then, you just stood there and did nothing. I thought you were a no-show before, but after your performance to today…"

"Who are you?" asks Shadow. "…and what do you want with me?"

"Call me: Skarkus! My hated for Robotnik is as strong as yours. You see, I too was a victim of Robotnik's cruelty. All I want think about is destruction for Robotnik for what he had done to me."

"Destruction…?" Shadow says to himself, quietly.

"But even with my robotic strength and power, I cannot bring vengeance to this vile "sorry-excuse-for-a-man" alone. But you, you have a power like no other. It's over 9000. If we joined forces, we can destroy Robotnik, together! With your Chaos powers and my intellect, Robotnik will not know what kind of "trouble" he'll be in for."

"How can I trust that you'll not just use me for own plans?"

"I'll do no such thing, I'll treat you like an ally and an equal, you have my word." Claimed Skarkus. He takes out his oversized right flipper, expecting a handshake from Shadow. "Now, have we got a deal?"

What will Shadow do? Shadow has just met the guy, and, like Shadow said, he knows absolutely nothing about him, yet he's willing to help him in any way possible. Then again, Shadow has just become another one of Robotnik's victims; he tricked him into breaking into his fortress to save a young girl named Hope who reminded him of someone. Now, she can no longer stand to seeing him. It was Robotnik's fault that this happened, and apparently, this Skarkus says that he could be the key to getting justice for what Robotnik has done.

With no hesitation, Shadow takes out his right hand, and shakes it with the robot Skarkus, sealing a new alliance. With Shadow having gained himself a new ally in the mysterious Skarkus, what will he do next? Who is Skarkus, and what does have against Robotnik? Is he Friend or Foe? What will Robotnik do when Skarkus attacks his city again, but with Shadow by his side?

These questions, and more will be answered… next time.


End file.
